Walnut Room holiday dining the same, angst and all

November 16, 2006|By Monica Eng, Tribune staff reporter

For those who worried that Macy's takeover of Marshall Field's would mean an end to Walnut Room holiday dining as we knew it, you can rest easy.

The experience at the State Street store remains nearly unchanged. The lines are just as long, the wait staff still as frazzled and the food as mediocre as ever. But to Macy's credit, the room also looks as opulent, traditional and grandly festive as it has for many decades.

And kids stuffed in fancy clothes still get just as antsy waiting to eat. Management has not learned that a quick delivery of crayons or carbs is essential when you are serving armies of kids.

On the first day of service last Saturday, we arrived in the venerable dining room 20 minutes after it officially opened. We found that there was already a short line and that all treeside and window tables had been filled. A staffer advised us to consider dining at one of the tables that had been set up around the eighth-floor balcony (one floor higher) overlooking the tree. We turned up our noses at this non-Walnut alternative, which has returned after a six-year hiatus with a more extensive menu.

The wait downstairs, though, turned out to be not too bad. Within a few minutes we were seated in the cramped dining room at a table that offered obstructed views of the "Great Tree" (this year decorated with Vera Wang- designed Wedgwood ornaments). For the first 15 minutes, the swarm of servers ignored our table.

Finally, our breathless waitress did notice us and took our order. Two kids' meals, with hamburger and meatloaf ($8.95 each), and the Field's Special ($9.50) for mom. Even though it was just 10:30 a.m., the Walnut Room was only serving lunch food. Starting Saturday and running through Jan. 1, it will offer a breakfast menu in the morning.

Still without water or rolls, we flagged down servers who mercifully found some for our table. Shortly afterward, a decent plate of hot meatloaf, mashed potatoes and baby carrots arrived for my daughter. My son got a dried-out hamburger bun holding a nearly raw beef patty. "It's bleeding," he yelped. My nostalgic Field's Special--cold buttered bread topped with slices of turkey and cheese and a dome of Thousand Island dressing-covered iceberg lettuce--was just fine.

We considered ordering dessert, but the waits convinced us to cancel the sweets and get the check.

After our escape through the throngs waiting to get in, we decided to take a peek at the "Tree Top Cafe" on the eighth floor. There we found a bright, airy aerie with great views of the elegant 45-foot tree and no lines. Diaphanous curtains separated the furniture department from these happy diners who seemed much more relaxed than everyone downstairs.

If you've already had the Walnut Room "under the tree" dining experience, it might be time to start a new tradition: over-the-tree dining on the eighth floor. We stopped by Monday for a quiet three-course prix-fixe lunch that included pretty good lobster bisque, Walnut Room salad, strawberry chicken salad and chicken pot pie. The real treats came for dessert with a decadent cranberry apple bread pudding and Frango ice cream pie.

Including drinks, this $22.95 meal turned out to be a better bargain than ordering all the food a la carte down stairs. Talk about moving up a level.

The Walnut Room ( 7th Floor, Macy's on State Street, 111 N. State St., 312-781-4483) is open 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Starting this Saturday through Jan. 1, it will open at 8 a.m. with a breakfast menu served until 11 a.m. The Tree Top Cafe is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and serves a pre-set menu for $22.95. Those waiting for tables can get beepers to carry while shopping. The Walnut Room is not open on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.